Behind the Facade
by vickyxoxo24
Summary: Post-Last manga chapter. They say when you love someone, putting their happiness above your own should make you happy right? but what if it doesn't? SasukexNaruto


**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, **_**obviously, **_**if not these babes (naru/sasu) would be paired. ;***

**A/N: I was really upset with the ending, like seriously, it made no sense at all so this is something my brain came up with to make up for it I guess xD forgive me if there is oocness. I hope you like it c: reviews are always welcome ;)**

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><p>"Hinata!" Naruto called from the room upstairs with a frustrated undertone, "have you seen my Hokage hat, I can't find it." There was an exasperated sigh that came from said girl as she rinsed the soap from the plate she was washing. She could hear footsteps padding on the floor above her. "If you were more responsible and knew where you placed your things, you wouldn't have to be looking for them" she responded and the irritation in her voice didn't go unnoticed. Bolt, who was sitting on the couch doing nothing in particular, whipped his head in the direction of the kitchen a shot a glare towards his mom before getting up and walking under the staircase.<p>

Naruto stopped walking and pinched the bridge of his nose. "All she had to do was say_ yes_ or _no_" he muttered under his breath. It was like this continuously. Not a day went by where they didn't have an argument unless Naruto had to go out of the country to visit the Kages. He walked over to their closet and shouted, "I know where I leave my stuff Hinata" God, this was getting them nowhere. He sighed in frustration and settled for going to work without his hat when he heard his son call out, "Dad!"

"Yeah Bolt?" he ruffled his hair in the bathroom mirror and when he deemed it looked fine he turned to exit when he saw Bolt holding out his hat, wearing a guilty expression. "I grabbed it yesterday to see how it would look on me, but it was too big…heh" Naruto smiled at the habit his son had gotten from him; rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. He grabbed the hat and guided them both down the stairs "I don't care if you grab my things, as long as you put them back" he grinned and ruffled Bolts' hair when they reached the bottom "okay?" all he received was a sharp nod and a huge smile.

"I'm leaving" Naruto said as he turned the handle on the door and took a step outside. No response. Not that he really expected one aside from-

"Bye dad!" came the ecstatic answer while small arms wrapped around him and squeezed him tightly. He looked down at the blond-haired boy lovingly and ruffled his hair once more "I'll see you later, okay?" Bright, blue eyes looked back at him and slowly the whiskered face morphed into one of disgust as he continued to lean down, "Ew. No dad. I'm not a little kid anymore! Kisses are for babies! Bolt said in a strained voice as he tried to escape his fathers' hold. Naruto chuckled light-heartedly and planted a chaste kiss on top of the childs' head. He said goodbye once more and closed the door behind him.

Bolt sighed and walked over to the back of the kitchen. He could see Himawari playing in the garden, her hands dirty with soil. His mom was to the side of him putting dishes away on the drying rack rather loudly. He was still upset at his mom for saying mean stuff to his dad. "hey mom" he was a bit unsure if he should continue since his mom didn't look like she was listening "why did you yell at dad? He didn't even do anything wrong?"

Hinata glanced at Bolt and continued washing the plates with a washrag "Bolt, it isn't any of your business. Go play with your sister or clean your room." Just then Himawari came in skipping like she didn't have a care in the world and gave a flower to her mom, "it's pretty, just like mommy" she told her mom in a sweet voice that was barely above a whisper. Hinata smiled and placed the flower on top of the counter before picking up the little girl and kissing her on the forehead.

"That doesn't answer my question!" Bolt said in an angry tone as he glared at his mom. His dad was his hero and his role model and seeing his dad happy made him happy, but he always looked unhappy whenever he was around his mom. "Don't use that tone of voice with me Bolt! I'm your mother!" Hinata scolded him as she placed her daughter on the ground. Bolt scowled at his mom before stomping out of the kitchen and toward the front door.

"I'm leaving!"

"Where are you going Bolt!"

"It's none of your _business_!" he replied in mock tone before slamming the door shut.

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><p>Sakura grabbed Sasukes' wrist and tugged forcefully before he reached the front door. "Look Sasuke, I just want an answer…is…is there…" she felt her eyes burn and tears begin to pool "is there someone else…?" Sasuke didn't spare her a glance since he already knew she was on the verge of tears by the way her voice broke. This isn't the first time they went through this and his patience was wearing thin. He tore away from her grasp only to have her grab him once more, causing him to groan in irritation.<p>

"Sakura, let go! There's no one else so can you stop acting like a child!" he yelled and pulled his arm along with Sakura since she insisted on holding on.

"Then why!-"

"Sakura!" the tone of his voice caused her to take a considerable step back and tears continued to fall effortlessly. He opened the door and closed it behind him with unneeded force causing a frame on the wall to fall and shatter all over the floor. Sakura sobbed and sat down on the couch, burying her face in her hands.

"Mom?" Salada called out cautiously as she made her way over to her mom. She watched how Sakura frantically started wiping the tears from her eyes and tuned to give her a much forced smile, "Hey sweetie…I'm sorry, did we wake you up?" her voice was shaky and Salada instantly gave her a look. She knew what happened; she was behind the living room door frame watching them. She despised how her mom would always try to pretend that she was okay when she wasn't.

"No, you didn't" she responded and hugged her mom, "…but he did" Sakura tightened her arms around her daughter as she began to tremble in her arms. "I…I hate him" she bit out between sobs. It was true. Her dad was always making her mom sad and it hurt her as much as it did her mom. Sakura soothingly brushed her hair with her fingers and comforted her with 'Sh's' and 'there, there'. When Salada finally calmed down, Sakura removed her glasses and dried the tears from her eyes, she smiled sincerely at her daughter, "Do you want to help me make lunch for me and you? We could go to the playground after?" She nodded and Sakura placed a chaste kiss on her forehead.

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><p>Bolt had his hands hidden in his pockets and a slight breeze ruffled his golden hair as he walked towards the quietest part of the village. Usually, only people who were going to bird feed and such came here, but this was a place he often came to when he wanted to let off steam. He walked past randomly planted trees and seemed to be quite interested in the patterns and shapes of the concrete below. He looked up and made a disapproving face. Someone was sitting in his spot. He squinted his eyes to make out the person and when he did, his eyes lit up and he began to charge towards him while shouting "Sasuke!" The raven-haired man looked up from the floor and half smiled when he saw a mop of blonde hair running towards him. Bolt ran into his arms and smiled brightly, hugging the older man and burying his face in his chest.<p>

He finally looked up into dark onyx eyes and held a curious expression "what are you doing here all by yourself?" he asked excitedly.

Sasuke patted the spot next to him and slightly shifted over "hn. I could ask you the same." Bolt only giggled at his response. He was_ extremely_ happy to see Sasuke. Sasuke was like his second role model aside from his dad. Naruto always told him the adventures he and Sasuke had when they were younger and how Sasuke was one of the strongest shinobi of the village. That alone made him admire Sasuke seeing how much his dad did; though he never understood why his father hardly ever saw Sasuke or spoke to him anymore.

"Why _are_ you all the way out here Bolt? The question broke him out of his thoughts. He shrugged and stared at his dangling feet. "My mom…" he started in a dejected tone "she's…unfair." He began swinging his feet, the back of his heels hitting the concrete ledge.

Sasuke scrutinized the child and thought he looked a lot like Naruto, minus the hairstyle. "I'm sure every kid thinks their parents are 'unfair' at some point. Did she take away your toys or something?" He couldn't help but smirk at the look the blond gave him.

"No" he squawked "I don't even play with toys…it's just" his dejected tone coming back as he stared at a bird that pecked at the ground. Sasuke seemed to find the bird interesting too, other birds joining it shortly after. "I love my dad, and she's always being mean to him…I hate seeing him unhappy…" he turned to look at Sasuke who had a weird expression on his face "What?" he added giving him a similar look.

"You're speaking of Hinata, correct?" Bolt nodded and awed when the birds decided to fly away. Sasuke kept staring at the blond. Was he really speaking of Hinata? Hinata the timid, shy girl who was madly in love with Naruto?

"Why are you staring at me like that?" the question took him out of his stupor. Bolt tilted his head and raised an eyebrow "you look…confused" he smiled at the raven.

"I am"

"Why?"

"Never mind…shouldn't you be at the academy or something?" he asked as he looked out over the village.

"No, it's _Saturday_" he deadpanned, snickering when the raven glared at him. Sasuke found himself admiring the blonds' eyes as well as his habits and speech patterns; they reminded him so much of…Naruto. "You have really dark eyes, they look like Saladas'" he half smiled, not really wanting to remember this morning and pulled the blond in for a hug. The hug did something to him, it felt…right. He found himself inhaling the natural odor the boy emitted and made a small smile when an all too familiar scent filled his nostrils.

"Thank you" he said under his breath, but Bolt heard it nonetheless.

"For what?" Sasuke pulled the child away and just looked at him, his mood being a hundred times better than earlier. "Nothing. Do you want me to walk you home?" He resisted a smile when the boy scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"About that, eheh…I sort of yelled at my mom and um…yeah" he responded nervously and cringed in anticipation of scolding, but it never came. "Hn. Then where will you go?" Bolt was almost shocked at how Sasuke seemed pleased with his actions; the like meter for him definitely went up. "umm. Oh! I could just go visit my dad or something, wanna come?" Sasuke stilled for a moment. He hadn't seen Naruto for a while now, and it did something to him to finally be able to see him. He nodded at the boy and after an air pump they made their way over the Hokage mansion.

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><p>As soon as Naruto had walked through the door Shikamaru knew something was up. He sighed resignedly and waited for him to take a seat before questioning him. "What happened." Naruto looked up at Shikamaru and tilted his head slightly, "what happened about what?" Shikamaru sighed and wrote something on his clipboard before grabbing a different pen since the ink had ran out of the other, "Well, something happened, you're not being your usual self" he said offhandedly. Naruto grabbed a paper that had a D on it, signifying that it was a D-rank mission and assigned it to some gennin that had gotten punished for vandalizing the academy restroom. "Nothing really, just tired I guess" he said as he looked over the missions they had received. Shikamaru knew Naruto well, too well as a matter of fact, and knew when something was bothering the blond. He would just give the blond some time to tell him what it was that was bothering him.<p>

"Hey, Shikamaru…?" or he could just tell him right now. Shikamaru looked up from his clipboard and regarded the blond. "Do you and Temari… you know, argue and stuff?" The brunette raised an eyebrow at the blond who just averted his gaze, "Well yeah, every couple has their share of arguments, it's troublesome but normal, why?" The blond seemed hesitant on what to say next and began to drum his fingers against the desk thoughtfully. "howdoyoufixit" he basically stumbled over his words at the statement, making the brunette look at him curiously.

"What?"

" . .it? The problems, I mean" Shikamaru walked over to his desk and handed over the clipboard and pen for Naruto to sign and he looked at the ceiling momentarily. "Well it all depends what kind of problem it is" he accepted the clipboard and pen back "like me and Temari usually just bicker, about jealousy and all that, but when we argue we just talk it out" he said in a bored tone, shrugging his shoulders.

"mmm. But what if it _can't _be fixed through just talking, then what?" Shikamaru gave him a look and the blond fidgeted under the perplex gaze.

"Hm. Even then it could be fixed, the problem isn't whether it can or can't be fixed Naruto, it's if you're willing to fix it." The brunette noticed how the blond tensed and wondered what had happened between him and Hinata.

"I am…_willing_, but I just don't know-"

"Naruto…" his gaze met Shikamarus' and he listened attentively, "You're the only person I know who won't give up on something he wants. No matter what you always stay true to yourself and if you really want to fix this then you will, you don't need my say in it" he grabbed the missions Naruto had assigned and walked towards the door "Just don't do anything stupid" he added before departing from the room, leaving a scoffing Naruto behind. He took a deep breath and sighed loudly while dragging his hands over his face. What was he doing? How much longer was he going to keep up this act of being 'happily' married? In all honesty he wasn't trying to fix anything that was anything between him and Hinata. He was simply asking for advice because he wanted people to think that he cared. Why was he so impulsive? Why did he always put everyone else's happiness before his own? Why was he such an _idiot_? He smiled sadly. Idiot. A name he accepted to be called from only one person. The person he was-

There was a melodic knock on the door and his smile grew since he knew one person who knocked that way. "Come in" Naruto said and the door all but swung open. A flash of blond came running towards him and around the desk, basically leaping into his arms, "Dad!" Naruto laughed and spun around with the boy in his office chair. When they stopped he noticed a figure by the door frame and only when the room stopped spinning could he make out who it was. He swallowed dryly. "S-Sasuke" he cleared his throat from how pathetic he sounded "um. Come in." Sasuke came in and closed the door behind him. Why weren't there any chairs in there? He didn't know what to say so he was glad when Bolt spoke up.

"Sasuke came with me to visit you" he said while he looked through some brochure that had a one night special. Naruto kept his eyes trained on Bolt and the pamphlet he was holding out in front of them because for some strange reason, he was nervous. "Oh really, does your mom know you're here?" the look Bolt gave him when he peered over his shoulder was more than enough to know that _no_, his mom had no clue he was there. He sighed and smiled. There was no doubt this child was indeed his son.

"So…" the velvety voice that spoke out made him stiffen "how have you and your family been?" Naruto looked up at him and smiled with a bit of force "good-great actually, never been better. What about you?" God, did this guy suck at lying, he didn't even bother hiding the bitterness in his voice. Of course anyone would buy his fake smiles and 'I'm just tired' and what not, but not Sasuke. He knew Naruto like the back of his hand. "Same. Exactly the same…" Naruto raised an eyebrow for a moment and Sasuke half smiled, knowing that the blond wouldn't catch the meaning behind his words.

"…_I hate seeing him __**unhappy**__…"_ Bolts' words played over in his mind. No matter how much Naruto pretended to have a perfect life, he was unhappy, same as him.

"Well, that's great" Naruto grinned "Um. I have a B-rank mission for you ready for tomorrow; did you want me to change it for a lower rank?" He asked as he looked through a pile of papers on his desk. Bolt moved to give his dad more access to the papers and walked around the desk to stare at some posters on the wall.

"Hn. Is that your way of saying I'm not capable of doing a B-rank mission? _Uzumaki_? The edge of his lips curved ever so slightly at his statement.

Naruto looked up and met his gaze with a challenging look "that's _Hokage-sama_ to you" he teased "besides, I was only asking in case you didn't want to go off on a mission for two days and you wanted to stay with your family instead." Sasuke smirked. If he could get a mission that made him stay away from home for months, heck, even years would be fine he would take it without hesitation. "B-rank is fine, thanks" he answered. Bolt watched the both of them with an amused expression. His dad _never _acted this way with anyone before, and for the first time in a long time he looked…happy.

"I'll be leaving" he glanced at the small scroll he received that contained his teams' names, "Lee?" Naruto smiled and nodded "unless you want Sai to join your team?" Sasuke didn't really _approve_ of Sai, so he'd just have to settle with Lee, not that he had anything against him other than his obsession with youth. He shook his head and turned to exit the room and paused before leaving "Bye…_Hokage-sama" _he smirked and disappeared behind the door. Naruto couldn't help the smile that spread across his face and sighed happily while leaning back in his chair. He almost said something he shouldn't have out loud when Bolts' voice reminded him he wasn't alone in the room.

"Dad…?"

"hm" slim arms wrapped around him and soft hair tickled his nose.

"I like it when you're happy…" he said sincerely before smiling.

Naruto pulled his son closer against him and responded with a grin "yeah…me too."

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><p>The night sky was clear and the moon was shining brightly, dominating over all the twinkling stars. Naruto walked past the city that was beginning to grow quiet, and over to Konohas' cemetery. It was a habit of his to visit his grave every Saturday morning, but because he was already late to work that day, he didn't have time to stop by. Regardless of the various anbu who were watching over him, he couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy about visiting a graveyard at night. 'Ghosts don't exist' he repeated in mantra, but the more he said it the more he imagined someone's soul appearing before him. He passed the entrance of the cemetery and stepped onto the well treated grass, thankful the random candle lights adorning the graves. It wasn't all too bad really; they had actually installed dim lights across the wall recently which he was very thankful for. He didn't have to look for his grave since he had already memorized where it was and just made a beeline there.<p>

_Itachi Uchiha_

_Honored Shinobi_

_Beloved brother and friend_

Naruto smiled. He picked up the already withering flowers and placed down his own fresh ones. "Hey Itachi" he started softly and placed a hand onto the tombstone "Umm…I saw Sasuke today, heh, he says he's doing great…" as he continued his smile fell "I know I should be happy, but…" Naruto chuckled, feeling stupid for complaining to Itachi "never mind…I'm sorry I didn't come this morning, things are just…bad" he sighed then caressed the plaque with his thumb. He smiled sadly and said goodnight before walking out of the cemetery rather quickly in case he disturbed someone's sleep and they were out to get him.

As Sasuke walked to visit his brothers' grave, he twirled the flimsy tea rose(1) between his fingers thoughtfully. He hadn't returned home since he left that morning and he didn't want to go back until he was sure everyone would be asleep. Dealing with Sakura wasn't something he looked forward to, besides he constantly visited Itachi at night since it gave him some piece of mind. Once he got to the entrance and walked through, he spotted someone looming over Itachi's grave. 'Could someone be trying to steal his brothers' remains'? He thought instantly, and slight anger began to rise within him. No one ever visited itachis' grave other than himself, not even his 'family'. Apparently some of the villagers in Konoha still couldn't except that Itachi was ever a 'good' person, maybe they thought his remains being there was some sort of disgrace. He secluded himself within the shadows when the figure began briskly walking towards the entrance. When the familiar man rushed past Sasuke, his eyes widened a fraction, "Naruto…?" he whispered to himself as he watched the blonds' back retreating.

Sasuke made his way to his brothers' tombstone, curious as to what Naruto was doing there. When he finally stood in front of the engraved stone he couldn't help but smile. "So…it was him" he said to himself, his smile never faltering. He had finally discovered who the anonymous person leaving flowers on his brothers' grave was. At some point he thought it was Ino since the flowers were from her shop, but it didn't make sense; she never even met him. He placed his flower next to the same ones he had seen week after week: a Camellia(2), Chrysanthemum(3), Zinnia(4), and Magnolia(5). His chest seemed to swell with several emotions, the most prominent being happiness. He kneeled down and sat Indian style in front of the tombstone, placing a hand on his cheek. His smile gradually turned bitter as he spoke to Itachi, "unrequited love…it's like you're drowning, but you can't die."

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><p>(1)Rose (Tea) - I'll Remember Always<p>

(2)Camellia - Admiration; Perfection; Good Luck, Gift to a Man

(3)Chrysanthemum - You're A Wonderful Friend; Cheerfulness and Rest

(4)Zinnia (Yellow) - Daily Remembrance

(5)Magnolia – Nobility

**I love flowers and I think it's so cool how each type has a different meaning, I'm going to have fun with this little fact hehehe ;p I need a Beta, so if you wouldn't mind being mine can you p.m. me pweeas. I hope you guys liked it, see ya next chapter ;)**


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